Religion assignment

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Hinduism 7

Reforms and Reformers:

Ram Mohan Roy

Dayananda Sarasvati

Swami Vivekananda

Impacts and Influences on Hinduism

  • The history of India is long and complex.
  • Despite having developed one of the earliest and most advanced cultures in the world, Indian society was subject to the transformational qualities of stagnation, decadence and decline.
  • (Right – Bhairavi, goddess of decay)

“Untouchability”

  • The varna system decayed into caste intolerance…

Samsara, Child Marriage and Suttee

Reforms

  • Hinduism has been subject to repeated reforms throughout its long history:
  • (Ref Bansi Pandit “The Hindu Mind p 330 f)
  • “The first reform activity was initiated by the sages of the Upanishads themselves, when the original, elegant religion of the Rig Veda deteriorated under a system of bewildering sacrifices…”
  • They advocated rejecting “excessive sacrifices (in favour of) meditation upon and knowledge of Brahman as the Supreme Path of self realisation”

Reforms (contd)

  • The second reform was to harmonise Jnana, Karma and Bhakti disciplines, “eliminating the disputes stemming from claims of superiority of one path over another…”

Fight, then…

  • “Lord Krishna initiated… the doctrine of selfless work… duty (dharma) for its own sake, as well as contribute to the social well-being.”

3rd Reform

  • “The third reform movement implemented by Buddha and Mahavira, emphasised the importance of moral and ethical principles in life. Both sages spoke against excessive ritualism and the caste system…”

4th Reform: Advaita Vedanta

  • Shankara’s reforms re-established Hinduism in India, in response to the challenges posed by Buddhism and Jainism

5th reform: Bhakti

  • In response to the Muslim and British occupations of India, the religion of India was re-invigorated by the popular devotional hymns of the bhakti poet-saints…

6th Reform:

  • “The Hindu Rennaissance” flowered under the influence of Ram Mohan Roy’s Brahmo Samaj, Sarasvati’s Arya Samaj and the work of the Ramakrishna Mission.

Contemporary Hinduism

  • India remains the spiritual home of “Hinduism” in all its diverse forms.
  • It has spread widely, however.

Transformation

  • There have always been “heterodox” or “heretical” movements within Hinduism – Buddhism, Jainism and latterly Sikhism could all be considered “offshoots” – or, from the perspective of faith, “clarifications”.

What is “Hinduism”?

  • Remember to consider “hidden histories” of devotional practice, as well as the more public recorded histories of cultures

Rishis, Gurus and Sadhus

  • An (often ascetic) alternative to hierarchical priesthood?
  • Who are Hindu “insiders”?
  • “Unorthodox” schools of thought include Jainism and Buddhism

Shaktism

Shakta devotional worship

Major influences
and their impact
on Hinduism

  • Empires and Religions:
  • Mughal Islam
  • British Raj Christianity

The Mughal Empire
1526 - 1862

  • The influence of Islam, particularly in the North of India, has been considerable.
  • Islam’s emphasis on brotherhood (Umma) appealed to those excluded by the varna system – particularly the “untouchables”.

Hinduism in Retreat?

  • Scholarly opinion is divided as to how much impact the Mughals had on Hinduism.
  • Culturally it was very rich, but what of religion?
  • The Mughal Emperor Akbar the Great abolished the tax on non-Muslims, but hardly embraced Hinduism.

The British Influence and the British Raj

  • The British Raj brought India into contact with European values.
  • Initially the East India Company forbad Christian Missionary activity as this would interfere with their business.
  • British Christianity appealed to many in the same way that Islam had in earlier times.

Ram Mohan Roy 1772 - 1833

  • A social reformer and religious purist (founder of the Brahmo Samaj- the Sacred Society)
  • The objectives of the Samaj were to follow a theistic form of Hinduism combining the best of what Roy had learned through his exposure to other religions.
  • Instrumental in abolishing Sati (suttee) and defending the rights of widows.

Rabindranath Tagore on Roy’s impact:

  • “When Ram Mohan Roy was born in India, the darkness of a moonless night was reigning. Death was roaming in the skies…When Ram Mohan Roy awoke and spread his sight on Bengali society it was an abode of the spirits…At that time, only the ghost of the living ancient Hindu religion held its sway in the funeral grounds. It had no life, it had no vitality, it only had its strictures and threats…”

Roy emphasised the importance of ahimsa, non-harming

  • Central to the ethics of the Vedanta is ahimsa, non-harming.
  • Everything is sacred under the sanatana dharma.
  • Tensions arise between conflicting ideas about dharma, e.g. of a widow.

The inventor of Modern India?

  • Roy died in England, (Ambassador from the Mughal Court)
  • His legacy as a social and religious reformer is unquestioned.
  • He addressed the “impurities” of Hinduism; he did not doubt the value of the religious visions contained in the Upanishads and other scriptures.

Dayananda Sarasvati
1824 - 1883

  • Unlike Ram Mohan Roy, Sarasvati did not borrow from other religious traditions – he was fiercely critical of both Islam and Christianity
  • (see his book Styartha Prakasha – The Light of Truth)
  • Founded the Arya Samaj:
  • Back to the Vedas!

                      

Why…?
Sarasvati’s night of insight

  • During a night vigil on Mahashivaratri (the Great Night of Shiva) the young Dayananda saw mice eating the food left as offerings to the Shiva lingam…

Rejection of Non-Vedic Beliefs and Practices:

  • The Arya Samaj condemned image worship (iconolatry), animal sacrifice, ancestor worship, pilgrimages, priestcraft, offerings made in temples, the caste system, untouchability and child marriages, as all these lacked Vedic sanction.

10 Principles of the Arya Samaj

  • God is the primary cause of all true science…
  • God is Existent, Intelligent and Blissful.*** He is Formless, Almighty, Just, Merciful, Unborn, Infinite, Unchallengeable, Beginingless, Incomparable, the Support and Lord of all, Omniscient, Imperishable, Immortal, Fearless, Eternal, Holy and the Maker of the universe. To Him alone worship is due.

Arya Samaj Principles (contd)

  • The Vedas are scriptures of true knowledge. It is the duty of all Aryas to read them, hear them being read and recite them to others.
  • All persons should be ready to accept the truth and give up untruth.
  • All action should be performed in conformity with Dharma, that is, after due consideration of the right and wrong.
  • The primary aim of the Arya Samaj is to do good for all, that is, promote physical, spiritual and social well-being.

Arya Samaj Principles (contd)

  • All people should be treated with love, fairness and due regard for their merit.
  • One should aim at dispelling ignorance and promoting knowledge.
  • One should not only be content with one's own welfare, but should look for it in the welfare for others also.
  • One should regard oneself under restriction to follow altruistic rulings of society, while all should be free in following the rules of individual welfare.

The Arya Samaj as Mission:
Havan and Gayatri Mantra

  • Unlike many Hindu societies and acaryas, the Arya Samaj seeks to “make the whole world noble” (Arya)
  • “"We meditate on the glory of that Being who has produced this universe; may He enlighten our minds.“

Swami Vivekananda
1863 - 1902

  • Brought Hinduism (as a serious religious and philosophic body of traditions) to the attention of the West – and ironically saved it from extinction in India.

The World Parliament of Religions 1893

  • The impact of Vivekananda’s speech in Chicago was profound.
  • Hinduism became “respectable”
  • Conversions to Christianity In India slowed.

From Vivekananda’s speech in Chicago:

  • …sect after sect arose in India and seemed to shake the religion of the Vedas to its very foundations, but …it receded only for a while, only to return …a thousand times more vigorous, and when the tumult of the rush was over, these sects were all sucked in, absorbed and assimilated into the immense body of the mother faith. From the high spiritual flights of the Vedanta philosophy… to the low ideas of idolatry …the agnosticism of the Buddhists and the atheism of the Jains, each and all have a place in the Hindu’s religion.

Ramakrishna: Vivekananda’s guru

  • Ramakrishna was an extraordinary individual – a charismatic Hindu saint and mystic, devotee of goddess Kali, seeing “all religions as one, all true devotion as good…”

The Ramakrishna Mission –
Advaita Vedanta in Action

  • Founded by Vivekananda “for one's own salvation and for the welfare of the World”
  • “Jiva is Shiva”
  • How can any be free if any are not free?

Continuing re-invention

  • The process of re-inventing, reclaiming and re-interpreting the past is nothing new.
  • The search for truth continues…

Next time… Contemporary Developments & “Neo Hinduism”